Oct. 17, 2023 • SECTION SC Volume 26, Issue 20
Sun City Knitters Make Care Packages For Cancer Patients See page 6SC
Sew What Club’s ‘Because You’re Special’ group of knitters help chemo patients stay warm.
Monthly Market Report
Sun City Hilton Head’s Home and Villa
SEE SPECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION INSIDE
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Oct. 17, 2023
Sun City’s Activities On Full Display During Annual Club Fair By Gwyneth J. Saunders CONTRIBUTOR
If newcomers had any doubt that there was plenty to do in Sun City Hilton Head, they would have evaporated Oct. 7 at the community’s vast exhibit of opportunities. From inside Pinckney Hall to the tables and tents set up outside on Veterans Plaza and the Pavilion, newcomers were invited to check out each activity while providing current members a chance to mingle with friends and pay dues for the next year. There are two kinds of community organizations within Sun City- chartered clubs and community groups. There are 72 chartered clubs. These are activities sponsored by the community association for residents to pursue common interests in hobby, recreational and cultural endeavors. In other words, if you and 39 of your closest friends want to form a club to learn fencing or play board games, you can apply to be a club. Current activities do not include those yet, but the already-established fun times range from art and amateur radio to bocce, bridge, ceramics, photography, stamp collecting and woodworking. The Sun City Veterans Association has about 850 members, and includes spouses and non-veterans who just want to support the organization in its efforts to provide benefit education and raise funds for local veterans orgnizations. The athletically inclined will find endless opportunities with all levels of pickleball, golf, softball and swimming. The performing arts clubs were well represented with members from the theatre, dance, instrumentalists and chorus. “The club fair was extremely valuable, because we haven’t had one for a while,” said Dianne Jones, president of the Sun City Chorus and Orchestra. “The new
people who just recently moved to Sun City were excited to learn about us. In fact, 10 people took away application forms to join in the spring, and a tremendous number of people who were not aware of the upcoming concert picked up order forms for tickets.” The other organized activities are registered community groups. The current 44 groups provide additional opportunities for those with mutual interests to that enhance their lives. The range from the 100+ Sun City Women Who Care to Friends of Backpack Buddies to Physically Challenged Active Adults. There are numerous regional groups for people from various states. If you have been in Sun City for a minute, it won’t surprise you to know there most definitely is a Buckeye Group. “You don’t have to be from Ohio to join. If you can spell Ohio or you drove through it, you’re good,” said club President Ron Gramlich. “We just signed up 25 new members. We have about 475 in the group now.” Like most of the groups, the Buckeyes aren’t just about collecting everyone from the state, but having fun and helping others. The club holds at least one event a month. Family Feud night raised $2,700 for Staying Connected. The annual pancake breakfast raised $8,000 for area first responders with $5,000 going to the Bluffton Township Fire District, and $1,500 each to the Jasper County and Hardeeville fire departments. If you missed the club fair, no worries. You can find lists of both clubs and groups in the community’s Sunsations magazine, as well as the community website. One word of advice: It is easy to get bedazzled by the possibilities all of the fun activities that you never had time to do before retiring and moving into Sun City. Maybe limit signing up to something new to the top half dozen on your list.
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Oct. 17, 2023
Age Is Just A Number By Ron Gray CONTRIBUTOR
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During the last 50 years, for many reasons including advanced knowledge and health-related practices, life expectancy in the U.S. has increased by 10 years. People continue to retain a high level of activity at ages that were unthinkable years ago. How would our parents and grandparents view a presidential election where the leading candidates would be closer to 80 years old than 60 years old? Yes, chronological age is just a number. More Americans, and more Sun City residents, continue to be very active at “advanced ages.” As a “super senior,” Roy Powers continues to demonstrate a high level of energy and involvement. Roy thinks of himself as an active person having been active all his life from his sporting days and being the mascot of the Providence College basketball team (known as Friar Roy) while working through his high school and college years. Roy and Elaine moved to Sun City in 2015 and have continued to be very active. Roy has remained active playing softball and golf and serving as Willow Brook Village Neighborhood Rep. Roy also serves as District Chair and serves on the Resident Advisory Committee (RAC) and the Elections Sub-Committee. Many residents know Roy from his leadership roles with the Rhode Island Group, the New England Group, the PA/Keystone Group, the Bocce Club which has 1,700 members, the Red Sox Nation Group, and the Pickleball Club. Roy’s motto is “Just keep moving and keep being involved.” Many of Sun City’s residents selected Sun City as their residence of choice due to the level of activity that is available within the community’s gates, including numerous fitness and sports related options and over 100 clubs and organized groups. Approximately 85% of residents belong to more than one Chartered Club or Registered Group and 53% belong to more than three clubs/ groups. Yes, age is just a number! Roy Powers is one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of “super seniors” in Sun City. In visiting sporting fields and courts and meeting rooms throughout the communi-
ty, it is clear that many of the participants are “active adult super seniors.” These folks enjoy being active and want to remain active for as long as possible and they are doing so in very admirable ways. There are numerous residents in their 70s, 80s and even their 90s who show up for events, contests, meetings and other offerings where their involvement is welcomed, respected and appreciated. There are signs at Veteran’s Memorial Field showing over age 65 and over age 70 regional and national softball championships won by Sun City’s male and female teams. The “super seniors” also show up in leadership positions in their respective neighborhoods, clubs and groups as well as on the sports fields and courts. One only needs to look at the parking lot at the Woodworkers facility, the pickleball, tennis and bocce courts, the fitness centers, horseshoe pits and card tables or observe the nattily attired (in all white) residents on the croquet lawns to see more super seniors in action. Yes, they are everywhere! How many “super seniors” do you know? Are you a super senior or do you intend to be one when your age creeps up into super senior territory? As super senior Roy Powers so wisely suggests: “Just keep moving and keep being involved.”
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Oct. 17, 2023
Sew What Club’s Special Interest Group Takes Chill Out Of Chemo By Gwyneth J. Saunders CONTRIBUTOR
Once a month, a handful of members of Sun City’s Sew What Club gather to knit scarves, hats, socks and fingerless mitts for their neighbors undergoing chemotherapy treatments. The “Because You’re Special” group began as a gathering of people who just enjoyed knitting until one day a few members decided to create care bags for cancer patients. “Maybe there was someone whom they knew was undergoing it at the time,” said group co-chair Carol Gentalen. “One of the ladies liked to create patterns, so she’d make them, and we would pick what we wanted to make.” The group consists of about 12 knitters who meet in the crafts room in the Yemassee Crafts Center. “It used to be everybody would work on a hat, and then everybody would work
on a shawl, then socks, and then fingerless mitts,” said Gentalen. “What we decided to do instead was put together the four items in these little baggies. Then the people who do the knitting are given the yarn and the pattern so they don’t have to buy anything.” The activity sometimes requires a lot of concentration, but there is plenty of conversation about casting the yarn, tight stitches and what size needle to use. Sometimes the discussion results in starting a project over again or exchanging one pattern for a different one. Getting help from those more experienced is part of the fun. “The nice thing is they have picked out really nice patterns, and when I first started with this group, I didn’t know how to do Bonnie Huber, left, Kathy Waters and Sherry Wintermyer concentrate on their projects for the Because You’re slides,” said Kathy Waters. “They taught me Special, one of the Sun City Sew What Club’s special interest groups. how to do socks and from then on, I was anything with wool. It’s either acrylic, or a able to help out with that. I never did a lace heel and toe, Gentalen found an old pattern for one-size-fits-all. synthetic.” shawl before, either, and they taught me “There’s no heel to it, and it stretches. Enjoying the hobby is one reason the how to do that.” You put your foot in and your feet are group gets together. The pattern for the spiral socks has warm. It’s good for boots, too. We don’t do changed. Instead of doing a sock with a Please see SEW on page 8SC
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Page 8SC SEW from page 6SC “I like to knit, and you can only knit so much for your family until they start saying ‘Stop!’” said Waters. Those in attendance also said it gives them something to do while watching TV and keeps them from snacking. Distraction, though, is not the only reason. For some, it’s personal. “I have a sister who had cancer, went through all of the treatments, and lost all her hair,” said Martha Greenly, who was starting a pair of socks. “Even though part of that time was during warmer months, she was freezing all the time. I made her a couple of hats, pair of gloves, pretty much the kit. It was so cold in those chemo rooms that she just was so grateful to have socks and a shawl or scarf. The fingerless gloves allow patients to use their Kindle or iPad while keeping their hands warm.” While the impetus was to provide comfort to women undergoing treatment for breast cancer, the men are not immune from the cold in treatment rooms, whether it is for dialysis or cancer. The group packs up a kit for the men as
well, and for every recipient, the contents are similar: a hat, scarf, fingerless mitts, socks and the group’s business card; some additional accessories are now included — donations from other community clubs that include the tote bags, notecards, earrings, keychains and mud rugs — a.k.a. coasters. “We get really wonderful thank you notes from people,” said co-chair Bonnie Huber. “They’re just really touched someone thought of them and created this for them.” The community’s knowledge about Because You’re Special has been mostly word-of-mouth. Often a friend, a neighbor or the patient herself provides the group with a name and either Gentalen or Huber make sure it gets to them, depending on where the resident lives. A selection of the finished clothing items is on display at the club’s monthly meetings to show the diverse talents of the members as well as encourage a few new participants. For more information, email SCBecauseURSpecial@gmail.com.
Oct. 17, 2023 The Because You’re Special care bag includes a variety of warm knitted clothing items as well as a few additions made and donated by other Sun City clubs.
Carol Gentalen, left, and Martha Greenly work on warm knitted items to go in a care bag for Sun City residents undergoing chemo treatment. The two are among about a dozen knitters who meet monthly as part of Because You’re Special, a Sew What Club special interest group.
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Don’t Be Fooled By Scare Tactics When Choosing Medicare Plans By Christopher Dewey CONTRIBUTOR
Over the past few months, I’ve noticed a rather disturbing trend particularly in the Lowcountry. Agents are using scare tactics to mislead their prospects into enrolling in the popular Plan G rather than the lower cost Plan N. Why are they doing this? Agents, on average, make 22% of the total premium their clients pay each year. Keep in mind, rates are the same for everyone, no matter where you buy your Medicare Supplement plan. You can buy your supplement from an agent in an agency, an independent agent who works alone, or directly from the insurance carrier. Either way, you pay the same. So rather than being scared and choosing a supplement based out of fear, I want you to choose a plan based on risk avoidance and knowledge. The Plan G and the Plan N offer virtu-
ally the same benefits with a few exceptions. Both plans have an annual $226 Part B deductible, but the Plan N has a $0 to $20 doctor copay after hitting the $226 deductible and a $50 ER copay. The only other difference agents exploit to get a higher commission is excess charges. So there are three types of providers in the Medicare space: participating (they accept Medicare assignment in full), non-participating (they don’t accept Medicare assignment but will bill Medicare), and lastly one percent of providers opt-out and are private contract providers that will not work with Medicare. About 96-98% of participating doctors accept Medicare assignment, which means excess charges NEVER come into play. Three percent are non participating doctors, most of which are psychologists or podiatrists according to the Kaiser Foundation, and these doctors are only allowed to bill Medicare 95% of the
Medicare fee schedule not 100% like the participating providers, but they can charge 15% above the Medicare assigned rate for a procedure. So Medicare pay 80% of the procedure, your Plan N pays the other 20%, and the doctor could charge 15% above the assigned rate (excess charge). Again, only 3% of doctors can charge excess charges and in 12 years none of my clients ever ran into this issue because I simply go to Medicare.gov, type in the provider, and Medicare tells us if your doctor is part of the 97% of providers that accept Medicare assignment. For example, let’s say you get a claim of $100 from a non participating doctor. They are only allowed to charge you 95% or $95 of the $100 dollar claim. Let’s say they charge 15% excess charges from $95, then that leaves you with an excess charge of $14.25 after Medicare and your Plan N supplement pay their share which equates to a 9.25% excess charge.
Now let’s look the rate increase history between the Plan G and the Plan N. My few same aged plan G clients averaged 9% rate increases per year over the past 5 years and my Plan N (same age) clients received on average 2.9% rate increases during that same period per year. So if you start out at $85 per month with Plan N at a 3% average annual rate increase in 10 years you will be paying $111.23, but Plan G folks will start off at $111.58 per month and based on the 9% rate increase they incurred, they’ll pay almost double that at $222 per month in year 10. My Mutual of Omaha Plan G clients in Georgia received an 8% increase back in December, but my Plan N Omaha clients had a zero rate increase for the year. Don’t be scared into making the wrong choice. You’re on Medicare for life. Consider the impact of rate increases over time.
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valerie@realestatefive.com
83 HAMPTON CIRCLE - REDUC
HHSUN: What is theBeautiful biggestJackson challenge thatsituated home sellers Model behind an wooded rear view that backs to the golf cour face today? How resolved? Office, Den, & Carolina Room w/ built-ins a VS: The biggest challenge home sellers today is,Fantast w/ double ovens and have breakfast bar. w/ heat &”air. very special home to “where do I go after I sell my home. WeA have used flexible closing dates and leasebacks so that our sellers can Asknew ushome about Home W find and move into their on our theirFREE own terms.
adds value to your home and more appealing HHSun: Anything else you’d like to share? to perspecti Visit our website to see all we do for you!
Visit www.RealEstateFive.com to see all we do for ou
GIVE YOUR A ValerieHOME Shreckengost, Agent-Partner-REALTOR COMPETITIVE EDGE!
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843-540-3829 Visitvalerie@realestatefive.com www. RealEstateFive.com
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23 Plantation Park Dr, Ste #202, Bluffton, SC 29910
Oct. 17, 2023
Page 11SC
We Educate, Empower, and then Enroll!
Call Chris at 843-227-6725 Generate your own quote at www.mayrivermedicare.com Look for your Annual Notice of Change Now 9/1 to 10/1
Licensed in 40 states
Medicare Fall Enrollment 10/15 to 12/7 Change from one Part D Drug Plan Use QR Code Below to See to Another Part D Drug Plan video on Why Agents only Sell Change from Advantage to another Advantage Plan
Plan G or an Advantage Plan and how we get paid
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Page 12SC
Oct. 17, 2023
SC’s Premier Real Estate Company, Listing & Selling Homes In Sun City/Riverbend, The Haven, Bluffton & Hilton Head Island.
Rick Malon Owner/Broker (843) 338-1360
Donnie Kunich Owner/Broker (843) 301-8517
TIN S I L
Hedda Tischler Sales Associate (843) 540-2074
www.hhihomes.tv
9 SCENIC DRIVE $469,000
G!
W NE
Ross Turpin Sales Associate (843) 263-3632
Extensive experience selling Sun City - More than 1500 home sales in Sun City Hilton Head, Riverbend and The Haven.
Pelican model located on former model park st offering a premium location with a short walk to the Town Square amenity center. Wooded view in back. Open floor plan offers an eat in kitchen with solar tube, stainless steel appliances, Corian counters, maple cabinets, tile floors & a bay window. 2 bedrms, 2 bathrms, Den, Carolina Room, Screened Lanai with tile floor & 2 Car garage. Great room with dining area with tons of light. Owner’s suite with bay window, Owner’s bath with raised dual vanities with custom tiled walk-in shower & separate jacuzzi tub. 4ft. garage ext. attic storage, Crown molding, ceiling fans, French doors in den & blinds.
20 WHITEBARK LANE $339,000
G!
W NE
Greg Price Realtor (843) 338-3418
TIN S I L
This Azalea Model Features 2 bed/2 bath and located on a quiet cul-de-sac. Tiled floors in foyer, kitchen, & bathrooms.hardwood flooring in the great room, Eat-in kitchen features White appliances and white Cabinets w/brushed nickel pulls. for more casual dining eat at breakfast bar. Master bedroom features a Bay Window and a large walk-in closet off the master bath. Relax on the Covered patio overlooking the mature landscaping. Two car garage. Welcome to Lowcountry living within a thriving over 55+ community offering World Class golf courses, tennis, pickleball, indoor pool/fitness center and much more!
INSTALL MOVETUBE ON YOUR FAVORITE TV DEVICE! SCAN THE QR CODE FOR A “HOW TO” VIDEO. Limited homes on the market, now is the time to sell. Call us today and let us show you how we can maximize your profit on the sale of your home.
SOLD
FOR SALE
PENDING
FOR SALE
6 Bayberry Drive $419,000
28 Pinckney Drive $549,000
9 Broughton Circle $439,000
54 Sunbeam Drive $419,000
PENDING
PENDING
PENDING
PENDING
12 Savannah Trail $1,375,000
93 Lazy Daisy Drive $339,000
66 Coburn Drive W $419,000
661 Cypress Hills Drive $679,000
TOWN SQUARE REALITY - WHAT IS YOUR HOME’S VALUE? FOR A FREE HOME AUDIT - CALL 843-705-9040 Find Your Dream Home at www.hhihomes.tv • 843-705-9040 • Located in the Okatie Shopping Center next to the Food Lion Supermarket